Natick.

Natick was expected to provide one hundred and three men, or just a company, and this she set about doing through a meeting in the evening of July 17th, in School House Hall, over which the Hon. J. W. Bacon presided. To report a plan of action, the following committee was appointed: Leonard Winch, John J. Perry and E. P. Fay. Another meeting on the 25th voted to pay volunteers one hundred and fifty dollars each, and a committee of fifteen was appointed to assist the recruiting officers. Monday, July 28th, brought out a great meeting which was addressed by United States Senator Henry Wilson, Capt. Ephraim H. Brigham and others. By August 1st, matters had reached ignition pitch with a great meeting in the Town Hall, Captain Brigham presiding; there were eloquent speeches, but the one which excited the most admiration was that of Benning Hall, Jr., the village expressman, who on this occasion made his first public address, chiefly to his comrades, of whom twenty-two had put down their names. The fourth public meeting was held August 4th, in School House Hall, Lieut. Simon Mulligan in the chair, and it was voted to act at once, and to talk afterwards. Then followed "a scene such as few people ever witness" when forty-seven men marched up and signed the roll amid waving hats and handkerchiefs, the very best men in the grand old town. The Hon. Henry Wilson was present and spoke, as did Edward Choate, G. L. Sawin, H. B. Moore, C. B. Phillips and B. Hill, Jr. In one week Natick had raised one hundred and twenty-seven men for her company, twenty-four more than necessary. It was Saturday, August 9, that, escorted by the Victor and Union Fire Company, and crowds of citizens, the Natick newly enlisted men set forth for their rendezvous. After a brief parade in Boston, Lynnfield was sought in the afternoon, where the reception was not just what the would-be soldiers expected. So many recruits had reported there was no room for the Natick people, who had to hire a building outside for use until the departure of a regiment gave them access to the regular quarters. Captain, Ephraim H. Brigham; first lieutenant, Simon Mulligan; second lieutenant, William H. Brown.